Jamaican Omar McLeod raced to victory in 13.05 seconds on Tuesday to become his country's first ever Olympic 110 meters hurdles champion.
Cuban-born Orlando Ortega was second in 13.17 to take silver for Spain, while Frenchman Dimitri Bascou claimed bronze in 13.24 ahead of compatriot Pascal Martinot-Lagarde.
It was the slowest winning time in an Olympic final since Canada's Mark McKoy won gold in 13.12 seconds in Barcelona in 1992.
With the exception of the 1980 Moscow Games, which they boycotted, the United States had never previously failed to provide a medalist in the 120-year history of the event at the Olympics.
